Machine for crimping electric connector members on the ends of wires



June 22, 1954 s E DAVIS 2,681,447

' MACHINE FOR CRIMPING ELECTRIC CONNECTOR MEMBERS 0N THE ENDS OF WIRES Filed Aug. l1, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet l lll June 22', 1954 DA s 2,681,447

S. E. Vl MACHINE FOR CRIMPING ELECTRIC CONNECTOR MEMBERS ON THE ENDS OF WIRES Filed Aug. 11, 1953 '4 sheetsheet 2 jew/? y dr June 22, 1954 y E, DAMS 2,681,447

MACHINE FOR CRIMPING ELECTRIC CONNECTOR MEMBERS ON Filed Aug. 11, 1953 THE ENDS OF WIRES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 22, 1954 s. E. DAVIS MACHINE EOR CRIMPINC ELECTRIC CONNECTOR MEMBERS ON THE ENDS OR wIREs 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 11, 1953 machine.

Patented June 22, 1954 MACHINE FOB CRIMPING ELECTRIC N-, NECTOR MEMBERS ON THE ENDS,` 0F

WIRES Stafford E. Davis, Newton, Mass., assigner to Ark-.Les Switch Corporation, Watertown, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 11, 19553, Serial No. 373,603

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for crimping electric connector members on end portions .of wires which have been skinned to receive them. In many kinds of electric appliances such as electric ranges, refrigerators and radios, Wiring yconnections are to an increasing degree made with pre-cut lengths of Wire having a connector member mounted on each end. By this means, low-resistance connections are quickly and easily made, and the time required for assembling the appliance is considerably reduced with a consequent saving in labor costs.

An object of the present invention is to provide improved mechanism for mounting connector members` on the end portions of pre-cut wires rapidly and certainly so that the number of defective connections is minimized. For this purpose a povverdriven press is employed having .a fixed `die or anvil and a co-operating movable die or hammer. The connector members are supplied in series of indefinite length, the individual members ,in a `series being held together by bonding elements which are cut by the machine when the leading element is crimped by the machine onto the end portion of a wire. The wires to which the connector elements are to be attached are inserted one by one into the According to the invention, means are .provided for `moving the end portion of the inserted wire into the proper position between the .anvil and the `hammer so that when the hammer descends, the crimping operation will be correctly performed.

For a more complete understanding o f the invention reference `.may be had to the following description thereof, and to the drawings, of Which- Figure l is a iront elevation of mechanism embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a Side elevation 0f a slightly modified `form of the invention;

Figure 3 is a front elevation, o n a larger scale, of the mechanism shown in Figure 1,;

Figure 4 is a plan viewof thesame;

Figure `5 is a iliagmentary plan view of a, continuous series of connector members, arranged side by side;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view of a continuous series of connector members arranged end to end;

Figures '7 and 8 are sectional views, on a larger scale, on the line '1 7 of Figure 4, showing the moving parts in different positions of operation;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary section on the line 9 9 of Figure`8;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary section on the line Hli-0 of Figure 8;

Figure l1 is a iront elevation of the modified form of the invention show-n Vin Figure 2; and

Figure 12 is a fragmentary section, on a 4larger scale, on the line I2-i2 of Figure 11.

The machine shown in Figures l, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10 is designed to operate on a strip of connectors such as is shown in Figure 5, the connectors being arranged side by side in the strip. The portion of the machine shown in. full lines in Figure l includes a bed 20 on which is mounted a housing 22. vertically reciprocable in the housing is a plunger 2d of rectangular crosssection. Mounted on the front face of the plunger are two crimping dies or hammers 26 and 28 (Figures 9 and l0) and a cutter 3.0 to sever the `leading connector from thel strip. A bracket arm 32 is secured to the bed 2U to support a reel 3ft on which is wound a strip 3,6 of connectors 38. The bed may be supported on a suitable `base '49 on which is also mounted power press mechanism 42 by which the plunger 24 is reciprocated, `the plunger having a tang 44 projecting upward therefrom by which it is secured to the power press mechanism. The housing includes a front plate lit, the lower edge of which is shaped to accommodate a positioning arm 5i? and pusher 52 hereinafter described.

Mounted in the bed 2U is an anvil or stationary die 54 on which the leading connector 38 rests when the dies 25 and 28 descend to crimp it to the end portion of a wire 22). `Each connector v38 is Vsupplied with two pairs of upstanding iingers iiiand 513, the .fingers 55 being varranged to be crimped around the end portion of the 'insulation on the wire, the fingers 5B being arranged to be crimped around the end portion of the wire from which the insulation has been previously removed. The crimping is performed by suitable notches 5i) (Figure 7) in the lower ends of the moving dies 2B and 28.

'Feeding mechanism by Which the strip 36 is draw-n step `by step from the `reel 34 and around a curved guide plate iti to the anvil 54 comprises a bell-crank having one arm .6d projecting into a recess `i in .the plunger v2li so as to `rock the bell-crank when the plunger is moved down and up. The other arm 68 of the bell-crank carries a pivoted ratchet 'I0 which is held yieldingly on the strip 3B by a spring 12. When the plunger 24 descends, the ratchet; 10 is retracted toward the left. When the plunger 24 rises, the ratchet 1U is advanced toward the right to feed a new connector into position on the anvil 54. A piv- 3 oted pawl T4 pressed by a spring 15 prevents retrograde movementl oi the strip 36.

An outer plate 16 is secured to the front plate 46 to cover the cut-out portions of the front plate and the pivoted members 5t and 52 which are located in the cut-outs. The positioning arm 5l) is supported by a pivot pin 78 which is mounted in the outer plate l5. The lower edge of the outer plate 'i6 is spaced suiiiciently above a narrow table 89 (Figures 7 and 10) for the reception of end portions of wires to which connectors are to be attached. To faciiltate the manual insertion of wire ends into the space between the outer plate 'iii and the table 8D, iiaring guides 32 and 84 are mounted on the outer plate and table respectively. The table Sil is above the level of the strip St of connectors and terminates at the anvil Ell. A special feature of the invention is the device by which the wire ends which are inserted more or less at random between the guide plates 82 and @it and the table gil are moved into the path of the dies as they descend toward the anvil 54. rThis device comprises the positioning arm 5l) which is rocked back and forth 90 by the pusher 52. The pusher is pivotally attached at its upper end by a pin 88 to the front plate 46 and is pressed toward the right (Figures 'l and 8) by a spring Qt. When the plunger 2s descends to perform a crimping operation, the pusher 52 descends with it and swings the arm 5U from the horizontal position shown in Figure '7 to the vertical position shown in Figure 8, both members 5Ei and 52 passing down through an open slot 92 in the end of the table't. When the arm 52 is thus swung down it sweeps the wire end off the end of the table te and against a vertical edge 94 of the front plate fit. rThe wire end is thus held accurately over the anvil 5d between the arm 5d and the edge 9B. The descending dies 26 and 28 push it down onto the anvil and crimp the fingers 55 and 58 over the end portions of the insulation and cared wire. To prevent the wire from being inserted too far, a stop plate E6 is mounted on the housing behind the dies 26 and 2B. When the plunger 2d rises, a nose 98 on the pusher engages a shoulder lil on the arm 551 and rocks the arm back to its horizontal position. Since the wire end is definitely positioned each time directly over the anvil which supports the leading connector, imperfect crimping operations are rare.

When the plunger descends, the cutter 3D (Figure 9) moves down past the rear end or" the anvil 51E and shears ofi the link by which the leading connector has been attached to the strip. .The severed link falls through a discharge hole H32.

A modified form of the crimping mechanism is shown in Figures 2, 11 and 12 to accommodate a strip iilri oi connectors itt such as is illustrated in Figure 6, the connectors in the strip being arranged end to end. This form of the machine is essentially the same as the other except that the strip oi-connectors is fed toward the operator instead oi in a transverse direction. Figure 11 shows a front plate il!) which is a removable partei the housing. This plate has a downward extension H2 providing a vertical edge against which the inserted wire is pushed by the positioning arm 50. The arm 5U is actuated by a pusher 52 as hereinbefore described. Crimping dies 26 and 23 (Figure 12) operate in the manner described and a cutterl M severs the bond H6 between the leading connector member and the one after.Y A back stop H8 is mounted on the housing to serve as an abutment against which the end of the wire is thrust. As the plunger descends the arm sweeps the end portion of the inserted wire over against the edge of the extension H2, thus locating it directly below the notches of the dies 26 and 28 which force it down between the upstanding fingers tightly around the base wire and the end portion of the insulation.

vI claim:

1. In a crimping machine which includes a base, a stationary die on said base shaped to support an electric connector member, a housing on said base, a die reciprocable in said housing above the stationary die and adapted to crimp portions of said connector member about a wirey a stationary vertical guide edge at one side 0f said stationary die, a table at the other side of said stationary die and at a higher level, a backstop behind said table to limit the rearward movement of a wire thrust in on said table, and a positioning member movable by downward movement of said recprocable die to push an inserted wire laterally from said table into engagement with said guide edge, whereby said wire is located directly in the path of the descending die.

2. Mechanism as in claim l, and two spaced guide plates for said wires, one of said plates xtending forward from said table and curving downward, the other plate extending forward from the housing and curving upward.

3. Mechanism as in claim i, said positioning member comprising an arm pivotally mounted at its upper end and swingable from a horizontal position down to a vertically depending position.

ll. In a crimping machine having a stationary die shaped to support an electric connector member, a vertically reciprocable die directly over the stationary die, and means for feeding successive connector members into position on said stationary die; a table at one side of said stationary die and above the level of the upper face of the die, said table having an edge adjacent to said stationary die, a vertical abutment element adjacent to and on the opposite side of said stationary die, a back-stop mounted behind said table to limit the distance of insertion of a wire end, and means actuated by downward movement to the reciprocable die to push laterally a wire end inserted on said table into contact with said abutment element, said means comprising an arm pivotally supported at its upper end at a fixed point above the table and swingable from va horizontal position down to a vertical position adjacent to said stationary die, and a pusher element vertically reciprocable with said reciprocable die and operating on its downward movements to swing said arm down from its horizontal position to its vertical position.

No references cited. 

